Page 45 of Bless This Hot Mess
Japheth placed a hand on his stomach; his face filled with a mix of excitement and dread, “I have this rollercoaster feeling in my stomach, it’s like we’re in the God…”
“Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” Rebekkah crossed herself and felt her hand tremble.
Suwarna waltzed in, a smile plastered unconvincingly on her face, “Everything okay in here? Everyoneokay in here? I’ll just do a quick body count; I meanheadcount. Oh geez.”
Emma-Lou, her face flushed with frustration, spun around to Suwarna and Carrington, “Suwarna, Carrington. Tell me the truth. How long has this been going on?”
“Your parents and the Ferraris were very close,” Suwarna replied flatly.
“Oh my God! Like… family?” Emma-Lou gasped.
Carrington nodded, their tone matter of fact, “That’s a good way to put it, yes.”
Rebekkah, always one to find the silver lining, turned to Japheth, “Strange. You’ve always wanted to drive a Ferrari. Your dream car.”
Ronald gave a little shrug, “Serendipity?”
Rebekkah furrowed her brow, “Time will tell.”
Ronald’s eyes lit up as something else crossed his mind, “Oh! Do we still get the Kia Rio as part of this deal?”
Emma-Lou’s frustration bubbled over, “Does that seem like a priority? Right now?”
Ronald shrugged innocently, “Well…”
Carrington, cutting him off, spoke sternly, “We don’t have time to renegotiate your contract right now. What we have is a big bag of cash that needs to be cleaned quickly.”
Ronald looked at the duffel, “Abodybag. I think that kind of reopens negotiations.”
Carrington’s smile was thin but sharp, “We’ll talk about it. Over drinks. Thursday. Six. You’ll pick me up.”
Rebekkah’s eyes widened in alarm as it all dawned on her, “Is thisillegal?”
“Erm…” Suwarna’s voice trailed off as she crossed to the wall of Emma-Lou’s office to carefully study a framed photo of a radio station sponsored pancake breakfast in a farmer’s field that suddenly caught her attention.
Emma-Lou’s voice quivered with uncertainty, “Ethical?”
Suwarna ran her finger along the bottom edge of the frame and then scrubbed away the dust in a rustled wrestle between thumb and pointer. She hedged for more time, “Ermmmm.”
Ronald crossed his arms, intrigued, “Traceable?”
Suwarna turned and glanced around the room, taking the time to look each of them in the eye, “Emma-Lou’s parents have run WWJD with frequent donations from the Ferraris for years.”
Emma-Lou’s shoulders slumped, “Until they disappeared on a cruise through the Bermuda Triangle.”
Carrington crossed their arms and shrugged, “Circumstantial. They booked itthemselvesafter the Ferraris suggested they could use a vacation. Could happen to anyone! There’s no evidence to point a finger at Rino and his family.”
“But is there a reason to be suspicious?” Emma-Lou asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
Suwarna crossed the room and grabbed Emma-Lou by theshoulders, “Do you enjoy sunshine? Do you appreciate being alive? Do you think WWJD has value in bringing people across the Land O’Lakes region to know God?”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” Emma-Lou answered quietly.
“Suspicion breeds contempt,” Suwarna warned, “and familiarity breeds fondness. I suggest we all get comfortable with the idea of being fond of the Ferraris.”
Rebekkah crossed her arms, biting her lip, “You want us to set our scruples aside for the greater good?”
Ronald leaned back, giving it some thought, “For the sake of argument, if we give this moral compass a spin–we don’t know where the money is coming from. It could all be on the up and up. The radio station is back in business with a great, new CEO…”
